#KopiaLens vs KopiaUI

KopiaUI is the official desktop app for Kopia. KopiaLens runs the same backups on the same repositories, and adds what KopiaUI doesn't have: the real size of every folder, search across every snapshot, and cleanup inside old backups.

	KopiaLens	KopiaUI
What it is	A backup app that shows what is inside your backups	The official Kopia desktop app
Backups with	Kopia repositories, including BlinkDisk vaults	Kopia repositories
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker and NAS, Home Assistant, browser	Windows, macOS, Linux
Scheduled backups	Yes	Yes
Browse, mount and restore	Yes	Yes
Per-folder size after dedup	Yes	No
Reclaimable space and removal previews	Yes	No
Remove files from old snapshots	Pro	No
Price (November 2026)	Free; Pro $20/year or $50 lifetime at launch pricing	Free

#What KopiaLens adds

Everything KopiaUI does, plus:

• The real size of every folder. What each folder costs after deduplication, not just the size of the files in it.
• The space you'd get back. What deleting a snapshot or pruning versions frees, before you do it.
• Search every snapshot. Find any version of any file in one search.
• Churn. The files that add new data every night, even when their size barely changes.
• Retention simulation. What a policy would keep and free before you apply it.
• Guided removal (Pro). Take a file or folder out of every snapshot that holds it, with a preview and an optional dry run, instead of deleting whole snapshots.
• What isn't backed up. Folders on your disks that no backup covers.
• Verify, and more. Check that every snapshot can be read, see what Backblaze Personal Backup keeps, and let AI agents help, with your approval before anything is removed.

#What KopiaUI does well

KopiaUI is the Kopia project's own app. It creates and connects repositories, edits policies, runs backups on a schedule, restores files, mounts snapshots, runs maintenance and updates itself. It's free, signed for Windows and macOS, and released together with Kopia.

#Who should pick which

Pick KopiaUI if you want the official app, you don't need to see inside your repository, or you want the smallest install. On macOS it has the longest track record.

Pick KopiaLens if you want to know what's taking the space, find any version of any file in one search, check that every snapshot can be read, or clear junk out of old backups without deleting whole snapshots.

#Three ways to use them

Replace KopiaUI. KopiaLens runs the backups, schedules, maintenance, restore and verify. KopiaUI can stay installed, and nothing is migrated.

Run both. Point KopiaLens at the same repository and keep KopiaUI on the backups while you look around. When you want KopiaLens to take over, choose it in Who runs backups... and quit KopiaUI. Only one app should run a repository's backups at a time, or every backup is taken twice.

Start fresh. New to Kopia? Create the repository in KopiaLens and skip KopiaUI entirely.

The repository stays where it is, and KopiaUI can keep opening it. A connection that KopiaLens finds on your computer stays where it is too; if you move one, KopiaLens asks for the repository password once. One thing to avoid: KopiaUI's Disconnect deletes the connection file, so don't use it on a repository KopiaLens also uses. Step by step: Moving from KopiaUI to KopiaLens and KopiaLens alongside KopiaUI.

The backup app is free. Pro, for cleanup, costs $20 a year or $50 lifetime at launch pricing. Download KopiaLens or see the plans.

Prices and product facts checked November 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email support@kopialens.com and we'll fix it.